1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a manufacturing method therefor, and more particularly, to an isolation structure of a semiconductor device.
2. Description of Related Art
Trench isolation is one method of isolating and insulating semiconductor elements from one another. A trench isolation structure is formed by forming a trench in the surface of a semiconductor substrate, and by filling the trench with a polysilicon film or a silicon oxide film. Compared with other insulation and isolation structures, the trench isolation structure requires a much smaller area and involves much lower parastic capacitance. Therefore, the trench isolation structure is suitable for increasing the density of and the operating speed of a semiconductor device.
FIG. 29 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional MOS semiconductor device having a trench isolation structures. In the drawing, reference numeral 101 designates a semiconductor substrate; 102 designates a trench; 104 designates a buried film; 105 designates a gate insulating film; 106 designates a polysilicon layer; 107 designates a metal silicide layer; 108 designates a sidewall; 109 designates a silicon oxide film; 1010 and 1011 designate source/drain regions; 1012 designates an interlayer insulating film; and 1013 designates a gate electrode. The gate electrode 1013 is formed from the polysilicon layer 106 and the metal silicide layer 107. An isolation region is formed from a trench isolation structure comprising the trench 102, the silicon oxide film 109, and the buried film 104.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 4-209551 and 2-114654 disclose a structure which is formed by filling an trench isolation with a polysilicon film and capping a surface of the trench isolation by thermal oxidation. As can be seen from FIG. 29, in the MOS semiconductor device, the gate electrode 1013 runs over the trench isolation structure and is shared among a plurality of transistors. Therefore, the buried film 104 must be formed from a silicon oxide film having a highly-insulating characteristic.
FIG. 30 is a cross-sectional view of a trench isolation structure of a conventional semiconductor device. In the drawing, reference numeral 110 designates what is called a bird""s beak.
Silicon oxide films include several types of films; among them a silicon oxide film formed by thermal oxidation (hereinafter referred to as a xe2x80x9cthermal oxide filmxe2x80x9d) and a silicon oxide film (hereinafter referred to as a xe2x80x9cCVD silicon oxide film) formed by CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition). The thermal oxide film is formed by forming the trench 102 in the surface of the semiconductor substrate 101 and subjecting the substrate to a heat treatment for a long period of time. As a result, the bird""s beak 110 becomes larger, as shown in FIG. 30. In contrast, the CVD silicon oxide film retards formation of the bird""s beak and is suitable for miniaturizing a semiconductor element. A semiconductor device for which a trench isolation structure is formed through use of a CVD silicon oxide film is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 59-135743 and 63-266878.
A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device having a trench isolation structure through use of a CVD silicon oxide film will now be described.
FIGS. 31 to 34 are cross-sectional views showing a process of manufacturing a conventional semiconductor device, and FIG. 34 is a cross-sectional view of a trench isolation structure of the conventional semiconductor device. In FIG. 31, reference numeral 1021 designates a silicon nitride film; and 1091 designates a silicon oxide film.
First, the silicon oxide film 1091 and the silicon nitride film 1021 are formed on the semiconductor substrate 101. Through use of a photoresist mask (not shown), the silicon nitride film 1021 is patterned in such a way as to open an area where the trench 102 is to be formed.
FIG. 31 is a cross-sectional view of an element of a semiconductor device obtained after completion of the foregoing processing operations.
Next, after the silicon oxide film 1091 and the semiconductor substrate 101 have been etched while the silicon nitride film 1021 is used as a mask, the inner wall of the trench 102 is subjected to thermal oxidation, thereby forming the silicon oxide film 109. FIG. 32 is a cross-sectional view of the element of the semiconductor device obtained after completion of the foregoing operations.
In FIG. 33, reference numeral 1041 designates a CVD silicon oxide film. As seen in the drawing, the trench 102 is filled with the CVD silicon oxide film 1041, and the substrate is then subjected to heat treatment at 1000xc2x0 C. in an oxygen atmosphere for about one hour. FIG. 33 is a cross-sectional view of the element of the semiconductor device obtained after completion of the foregoing processing operations.
After the silicon substrate has been made smooth by means of CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing), the silicon nitride film 1041 and the silicon oxide film 1091 are removed, thereby completing the trench isolation structure.
Since the CVD silicon oxide film has a low density, mere embedding of the film into the trench results in a poor-quality CVD silicon oxide film; the silicon oxide film assumes particularly poor quality in the center of the trench 102. As a result, the CVD silicon oxide film 1041 is etched when the silicon oxide film 1091 and other silicon oxide films are removed by hydrofluoric acid, thereby forming a recess in the CVD silicon oxide film 1041 such as that shown in FIG. 34. For this reason, after deposition of the CVD silicon oxide film 1041, the substrate is subjected to heat treatment so as to improve the etch resistance characteristics of the CVD silicon oxide film 1041, thereby preventing formation of a recess.
The semiconductor device shown in FIG. 29 is formed by sequentially forming the gate insulation film 105, the gate electrodes 1013, the source/drain regions 1010 and 1011, and the sidewalls 108.
Since the CVD silicon oxide is formed in such a manner as mentioned above, formation of a bird""s beak is retarded when compared with the case in which a buried film is formed from a thermal oxide film. Consequently, the CVD silicon oxide film is suitable for miniaturizing a semiconductor element.
However, in the conventional semiconductor device, if the substrate is subjected to heat treatment in order to improve the quality of the CVD silicon oxide film after the CVD silicon oxide film was formed, or if the substrate is subjected to heat treatment during the process of fabrication of an element, for reasons of a difference in coefficient of thermal expansion between the CVD silicon oxide film and the semiconductor substrate, the volume of the CVD silicon oxide film filled in the trench is changed to exert mechanical stress (stress) in an area between the semiconductor substrate and a buried layer. The stress induces defects in the semiconductor substrate around the trenches. If such a semiconductor substrate is subjected to heat treatment in an oxygen atmosphere, the CVD silicon oxide film expands, as a result of which defects become particularly noticeable.
FIG. 35 is a cross-sectional view of an element of a conventional semiconductor device and shows an MOS when a leakage current flows because of defects. In the drawing, reference numeral 120 designates a defect; 130 designates an electron; and 140 designates a hole. Because of the semiconductor device being subjected to the heat treatment after deposition of the CVD silicon oxide film, the defect 120 is formed in the semiconductor substrate around the trench. The defect 120 deteriorates the reliability of the element, in addition to causing the electron 130 and the hole 140 to form a pair. As a result of migration of the electron 130 and the hole 140 in the directions indicated by arrows in the drawing, a leakage current flows in the source/drain region, thereby causing a faulty operation or an increase in power consumption. Memory cells in DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) store information by means of electric charges stored in a capacitor and perform refresh (i.e., read/write operations) at regular time intervals. In the event of a leakage current flowing by means of defects, the information stored in the capacitor is excessively lost, thus deteriorating the refresh characteristics of the memory cells.
The present invention has been conceived in light of the foregoing drawbacks of the prior art, and the object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor device having a trench isolation structure which has a high insulating characteristic, is suitable for miniaturizing an element, and is capable of reducing a leakage current, as well as to provide a method of manufacturing the semiconductor device.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a semiconductor device comprising a semiconductor substrate having a trench formed in a main surface; a polysilicon film formed on a surface of an area of the semiconductor substrate within the trench; and a CVD silicon oxide film formed on the surface of the polysilicon film filling the trench; and an element formed in an active region surrounded by the trench formed in the main surface of the semiconductor substrate.
In the semiconductor device, the trench may be disposed between the active region and an other active region, and the polysilicon film may be surrounded independently each of the active region and the other active region.
Here, the semiconductor device may further comprise a first thermal oxide film between the polysilicon film and the CVD silicon oxide film.
Here, the semiconductor device may further comprise a silicon nitride film between the polysilicon film and the CVD silicon oxide film.
In the semiconductor device, the polysilicon film may have irregular surface.
In the semiconductor device, the element formed on the main surface of the semiconductor substrate may have source/drain regions formed in the main surface of the semiconductor substrate and may have a gate electrode formed on the main surface of the semiconductor substrate by way of an gate insulating film.
Here, the semiconductor device may further comprise a silicon oxide film formed between an edge of the polysilicon film and the gate insulating film.
Here, the semiconductor device may further comprise an interlayer insulating film covering the surface of the semiconductor substrate and having an opening; and a capacitor connecting to either the source region or the drain regions by way of the opening.
Here, the semiconductor device may further comprise a second thermal oxide film formed between the semiconductor substrate and the polysilicon film.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising the steps of forming a trench to surround an active region by etching a main surface of a semiconductor substrate while the main surface in the active region of the semiconductor substrate is masked; forming a polysilicon film to cover the surface of the trench; depositing a CVD silicon oxide film over the entire surface of the trench by filling the trench; subjecting the semiconductor substrate to heat treatment; planarizing the surface of the CVD silicon oxide film; removing the mask; and forming an element on the main surface in the active region of the semiconductor substrate.
In the semiconductor device manufacturing method, after the step of forming a polysilicon film, the method may further comprise the step of etching the polysilicon film formed on the surface of the bottom of the trench in the semiconductor substrate.
In the semiconductor device manufacturing method, after the step of forming a polysilicon film, the method may further comprise the step of forming a thermal oxide film on the surface of the polysilicon film.
In the semiconductor device manufacturing method, after the step of forming a polysilicon film, the method may further comprise the step of forming a silicon nitride film on the surface of the polysilicon film.
In the semiconductor device manufacturing method, the surface of the polysilicon film may have irregularities.
In the semiconductor device manufacturing method, after the step of forming a polysilicon film, the method may further comprise the step of forming irregularities by etching the surface of the polysilicon film.
In the semiconductor device manufacturing method, the step of formation of the polysilicon film may comprise a step of formation of an amorphous silicon film and a step of subjecting the semiconductor substrate to heat treatment in a vacuum.
Here, the semiconductor device manufacturing method may further comprise the steps of forming a gate insulating film on the main surface of the semiconductor substrate by thermal oxidation; forming a gate electrode on the surface of the gate insulating film; and forming source/drain regions on the main surface of the semiconductor substrate.
Here, the semiconductor manufacturing method may further comprise the steps of forming a sidewall on the side surface of the gate electrode; forming an interlayer insulating film over the entire surface of the semiconductor substrate; forming an opening to permit communication between the surface of the interlayer insulating film and either the source region or the drain region; and forming a capacitor to be connected to either the source region or the drain region by way of the opening.
In the semiconductor manufacturing method, after the step of forming a trench and prior to the step of forming a polysilicon film, the method may further comprise the step of forming a thermal oxide film on the surface of the semiconductor substrate within the trench.